Reclaiming my blog

For a while, I’ve tried to keep my blog relatively family-friendly. I’ve hidden more vulgar or objectionable things behind “Read More” links, and I avoid swearing. I’ve also, in the past, decided not to post about some things I find really interesting because they deal with culturally taboo subjects, like sexuality.

While I appreciate not trying to offend others, I feel like my blog is my space, and if I feel hampered in what I can post because I’m afraid I’ll tick some people off or disturb their sensibilities, I think I’m ultimately dealing myself a disservice. A blog exists to be written in, and though there are many excuses as to why I haven’t posted much lately, one of them–the question of content–is easily dealt with.

So consider this a waypost along the history of my blog. After today, I’m going to be far more liberal with what I see fit to post. While I’ll certainly keep some civility, and I’ll keep all really questionable content behind “See More” links, clearly marked as such, my posts from here on may deal with things like sex. They may very well use words not suited for polite conversation.

I’ve been writing blogs since middle school, and until now, I’ve felt like I’ve still been trying to play that polite, largely inoffensive role. But I’m almost 20. I’m a voting adult. I say “fuck” and “shit” sometimes. Sex is no longer confined to locker room conversations between sweaty, pubescent middle-schoolers, but it’s an actual part of my life, my friends’ lives, my peers’ lives– and furthermore, as a sociologist and someone who’s deeply interested in human behavior, I find it to be a fascinating topic of examination and discussion.¹Don’t misunderstand me– you’re not going to suddenly find a bunch of posts on my sex life, since I don’t want to publish that to the internet. Not in the slightest. As the president of a secular student group on campus, I’m keenly attuned to issues of religion and non-religion in the country, and as I develop perspectives on those issues, I will almost certainly take stances that are unpopular. If I only write what I feel won’t offend, I preclude myself the opportunity to write personally about the broad spectrum of things that interest me.

A few months ago, I added the following disclaimer to the page footer:

The opinions expressed on this website, except where otherwise quoted, are my own, and do not necessarily reflect the views of my employer(s), Whitman College, my family, or any other affiliated parties.

I want this to be clear: This is my space. What I say doesn’t necessarily reflect my parents’ beliefs. It doesn’t represent Whitman College’s beliefs. It doesn’t represent the beliefs of the Secular Student Alliance; the Whitman College Atheists, Humanists, and Agnostics; or the Center for Inquiry. It doesn’t represent Camp Namanu’s beliefs, or the beliefs of the Associated Kyoto Program, or any other organization or individual I happen to find myself associated with in the future. The words you are reading belong to me and me alone (except when I’m quoting someone, but that should be obvious). If I offend, I do so as myself, Spencer, and not as a representative of anyone else.

The other side of this is that I may start using my blog more often to post less in each individual post. Often, when I have written in my blog, I’ve composed lengthy essays. That’s all well and good– I’m a verbose person, as you should know– but I’ve ended up setting a precedent for myself that if I’m going to blog, it’s going to be a lengthy narrative or argument. I want to break from that. My Twitter feed, nestled neatly in the sidebar, easily gets twenty times the activity my normal blog does, because I feel it’s a medium where I can share tiny thoughts, compelling articles, or what-have-you. And while I wouldn’t want to put all of that in my main blog here– I use Twitter for a reason– I may start taking a more lax approach to posting.

Doesn’t necessarily mean that I’m all of a sudden only going to post about sex, or that I’m going to fucking modify every fucking word with fucking “fuck,” or that the rest of my posts are going to be 140-character snippets. But it does mean that I’m no longer keeping those subjects, words, or forms taboo in my blog. If that’s gonna freak you out, then consider this your warning. From here on out, I’m writing what I want to write. After all, it is my blog.

Cheers,

-Spencer

Image Sources

Header image background is Cracked Parchment by Evelyn Flint/Daydreaming Images (CC BY 4.0). I modified the colors. Thank you, Evelyn!